Liane the Wayfarer-Jack Vance chapter from the novel Mazirian the Magician

Liane the Wayfarer-Jack Vance chapter from the novel Mazirian the Magician

AKA: Mazirian the Magician, chapter 4

The Dying Earth, Book I, chapter 4

Liane the Wanderer, misspelling

The Loom of Darkness

This is an 11/13 page chapter (#4) from the Jack Vance novel The Dying Earth. This novel is also known as Mazirian the Magician and Tales of the Dying Earth, Book II. It was first published in 1950 by Hillman Periodicals as part of the novel The Dying Earth.  Later in December that same year Liane the Wayfarer appeared as an excerpt when it was issued as a short story in the magazine Worlds Beyond.  In the magazine issue, however, it was given the title “The Loom of Darkness.”  Some writers have stated that this work was first published in a magazine and later included in the novel but I have a copy of the 1950 Worlds Beyond (pages 117-128) and it clearly states that this work is an excerpt from the novel The Dying Earth. “One episode from Jack Vance’s astonishing novel is printed in this issue of Worlds Beyond under the title, The Loom of Darkness.” They simply changed the title, something that was not uncommon with science fiction and fantasy magazines. Because this work was initially issued as a chapter of a novel I list it as an excerpt or chapter rather than as one of Vance’s free standing short stories.  It has, however, appeared quite frequently on its own in anthologies and collections as have most of the other chapters in the novel.  (See below.)

In this story we encounter Liane the Wayfarer who appeared briefly in the prior chapter titled “Tsais” in the novel The Dying Earth.  This time we find Liane whistling and prancing through a dim forest in high spirits.  He makes a “wry mouth” as he recalls having killed a spice merchant and “what a tumult he had made dying!  How carelessly he had spewed blood on Liane’s cock comb sandals.”  While burying the merchant Liane found a bronze ring.  “Around his finger he twirled a bit of wrought bronze-a circlet graved with angular crabbed characters, not stained black.”  Finding the ring made Liane’s spirits soar and “he laughed in pure joy. He bounded , he leapt.”  In a few short paragraphs we are introduced to an uncaring murderous rogue, a pure scoundrel who is one of the darkest, most unlikeable characters Vance ever developed. 

Liane considers taking the “circlet” to a magician to have it tested for sorcery.  What sounds initially like a finger ring, however, soon is or somehow becomes large enough for Liane to slip over his body. When he does this he emerges in maroon light in the forest where he sees a Twk-man mounted on a dragon-fly who asks Liane what he would like.  Liane tells the Twk-man to watch him and report what he sees. Liane puts the ring over his head, drops it to his feet and then reverses the process.  The Twk-man reports that he saw Liane disappear from sight and then reappear.  Liane next agrees to give the Twk-man some salt in exchange for local news and learns that a beautiful golden witch by the name of Lith has come to the area to live.

After practicing with the ring Liane decides to seek out Lith who, when he finds her next to a pond, turns out to be even more beautiful than he had imagined.  Liane appears to have great confidence in his abilities to charm women and announces to Lith that he is here to offer his friendship and love to her. Lith responds by throwing in his face a handful of green slime from the pond after which she retreats to her hut where she is protected.  Liane is outraged but soon recovers and tells Lith “you are ripe as a sweet fruit, you are eager, you glisten and tremble with love. You please Liane, and he will spend much warmness on you.” Lith encourages Liane but says that she “may have no lover but him who has served me.”  The service she proposes to Liane is for him to recover the other half of a golden tapestry that was stolen from her by Chun the Unavoidable who lives in the Palace of Whispers.  Liane is so self-confident that leaves immediately to steal back the other half of the tapestry.

At a local inn Liane meets some wizards who take turns demonstrating their magical feats.  When he mentions later that he is on a quest for the witch Lith and must steal a piece of tapestry from Chun the Unavoidable the wizards suddenly become silent.  They then tell him of the dangers of Chun but Liane is extremely confident and dismisses their warnings.  The next day on the way to find Chun’s home Liane meets an old man who provides him with directions to the Palace of Whispers and is rewarded for his helpfulness by being murdered by Liane. The story continues with Liane’s adventure of his quest for the golden tapestry.  I’ve read it many times and rated it a 5.

First published in the 1950 paperback novel The Dying Earth by Hillman Periodicals

Included as an excerpt in the anthologies:

Realms of Wizardry, Linn Carter, ed., Doubleday, 1976

Masters of Fantasy, Terry Car, ed., Galahad, 1992

The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories, Tom Shippey, ed. Oxford University Press, 1994

The Fantasy Hall of Fame, Robert Silverberg, ed., Harper Prism, 1998

My Favorite Fantasy Story, Martin Greenberg, ed., DAW Books, 2000

The World Turned Upside Down, Jim Baen, ed., Baen, 2005

The Jack Vance collection titled Green Magic: The Fantasy Realms of Jack Vance (2012) 

Note: On the Contents page of Green Magic it lists “Liane the Wanderer” instead

of “Wayfarer.”  The correct name is used elsewhere in this edition.

The Jack Vance collection Jack Vance Treasury (2007, Subterranean)